Guinea’s Conde Will Offer Posts to Opposition to Ease Tensions

Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Guinean President-elect Alpha Conde
plans to offer ministerial posts to opposition figures as part
of a “reintegration” policy aimed at easing ethnic tensions in
the West African country, his spokesman said.

Conde, 70, will meet leaders from his party today to
discuss the proposed appointments, Mamady Sinkoun Kaba said in
an interview from Conakry, the capital. A former professor at
the Sorbonne in Paris, he has also proposed forming a Truth,
Justice and Reconciliation Commission to probe human-rights
abuses in the country, Xinhua reported yesterday.

“The importance of reintegrating this country is
paramount,” Kaba said. “We need absolutely everybody to be
together on this to run the country. We will accept the best of
our opposition that choose to work with us.”

Ethnic clashes flared across Guinea last month after Conde,
who draws much of his support from the Malinke, the second-largest ethnic group, was declared the winner of a Nov. 7 runoff
election. His rival, former Prime Minister Cello Dalein Diallo,
contested the results. Diallo was largely backed by the Peul,
the biggest ethnic group.

Guinea’s $4.3 billion economy relies on mining and
agriculture to generate most of its output. The country has as
much as half of the world’s reserves of bauxite, an ore used to
make aluminum. It also holds more than 4 billion metric tons of
“high-grade” iron ore and “significant” deposits of diamonds and
gold, according to the U.S. State Department.

Political Instability

The country has faced political instability since a group
of military officers took power in December 2008 following the
death of former President Lansana Conte, who had ruled for 24
years. General Sekouba Konate became the leader of the junta in
December 2009 after the 2008 coup leader, Moussa Dadis Camara,
was shot in the head by an aide. This year’s election
represented the first democratic transfer of power since Guinea
gained independence from France in 1958.

During their campaigns, both Conde and Diallo proposed
offering the post of prime minister to the loser of the Nov. 7
runoff vote, an offer Diallo hasn’t formally accepted. Conde’s
victory in the runoff was certified by the country’s Supreme
Court on Dec. 3.

Conde has also asked Guinea’s military government to freeze
all public spending apart from wages for state employees before
his inauguration, Kaba said.

Fund Management

“The only money from our state coffers that will be paid
from this point going forward will be government salaries,” he
said. “That will continue up until he takes office, and once he
takes office, we are going to change the way state funds are
managed.”

The president-elect’s transitional team has begun
appointing commissions that will review spending procedures and
recommend new practices in “each and every governmental
department,” Kaba said. The new administration is also on a
recruitment drive targeting Guineans living abroad, to
professionalize the country’s civil service, he said.

To curb corruption, Conde is also likely to propose salary
increases for government workers and Justice Ministry officials,
Kaba said.

Guinea ranks as the world’s 14th-most corrupt country in an
index compiled by Transparency International, the Berlin-based
advocacy group.